Free Frequency (The Frenzy Series Book 3) by Casey L. Bond

tucked away safely at home, and of what could be lost in the forest beyond.
    “Is my sister going to die tonight?” I asked, watching the water swirl beneath the slickened trunks.
    Tage sighed. “I don’t think so. Not tonight. If you’re asking if she will die, the answer is that she was already dying.”
    “I hastened the process.”
    Tage took my hand. “You were protecting your brother, and the only reason you thought she was a threat was because until I found her in the city, she acted like one. Even if she gets well, if she is somehow able to pull out of this and remain Infected for years, I still wouldn’t trust her. I wouldn’t trust her not to hurt you. So in my mind, and in the minds of your family, you did what you had to. You did what anyone in your position would have done, given your history with her. She has repeatedly attacked you and those you love and you had to protect them, even if it was against her.”
    I nodded and he pulled me into his chest. “You did the right thing, kitten.”
    If he was right, if I really did do the right thing, then why did it feel so wrong?
    “Where is Roman?”
    Tage blew out a breath, white mist forming a cloud between us as he pushed away slightly. “I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think Roman would leave Blackwater without a fight…which means we might be in for one.”

 
     

     

    Bouncing onto Porschia’s mattress, she popped into the air. She might be taller than me, but she was thinner. She was tiny. “Brought you something!” I whispered excitedly.
    “What is it?” Her eyes glittered. She loved the thought of surprises more than the thing itself.
    “Hold your hand out and close your eyes.”
    “’Cedes, come on. I’m too old for that.”
    I tsked her. “You’ll never get too old for fun. Now, hand out, eyes closed.”
    With a huff and half a smile, she gave in, holding her right hand out and closing her eyes. I caught her peeking, but didn’t call her out on it.
    Releasing the hand full of blackberries into her palm, I watched as her smile lifted her cheeks. She’d been sick, though it was late summer, and I found them while I was out on the hunt. Blackberries were her favorite. Somehow they survived the trip through the woods and back home without being smashed. Mother would have cursed me for having a stained pocket full of smooshed berries, though I did my own wash and had since I was seven.
    Porschia opened her eyes. “From the forest? Oh, I want to go with you!”
    “No you don’t. It’s boring. Besides, the Infected roam the woods.”
    “Everyone says that just to keep children from wandering, but I know they aren’t real. I’ve never seen one. Ever.”
    I steeled my shoulders. I didn’t want her to wander, it was true, but that was because the monsters we thought were only ploys used by our parents were actually real. They did roam the woods. The night-walker overseeing our hunt last night had torn one’s head off. It was the first Infected I’d seen up close. He was tall, thin, and his skin was mottled and purple. His eyes were clouded over and he moaned as he stumbled through the woods. Instead of seeing a monstrous creature, I saw him. I saw him as he might have been during his life before he became this. Perhaps he was a father, perhaps he held an important job. He was someone’s son, someone’s friend. And now, as if the disease hadn’t robbed him of enough, he was dead.
    The night-walker acted like it was normal to walk up to a person and extinguish them. Of course, I didn’t want to be Infected, but what the vamp did wasn’t necessary. He didn’t even see us to hurt us. The man wasn’t fast. He couldn’t have caught us.
    But maybe it was for the best.
    The Infection had one more victim to add to its tally, hastened by the night-walkers.
    The forest might be slightly safer.
    The vampire warned us of the freshly diseased. “They’re faster and they still think and problem-solve. They’re dangerous, so